A silent disease that threatens 20 thousand Sicilians unaware of their condition. The objective is therefore to eliminate health risks thanks to early diagnosis. The campaign of the Sicilian Region against hepatitis C entitled “Basta Pensarci” starts with these assumptions.
From today, in fact, simple, fast and completely free screening in all participating public and private laboratories and, for those who test positive, rapid treatment with tablets to be taken by mouth in the nearest specialized centres. An initiative supported in over 300 laboratories affiliated with the regional health service and with more than 4 thousand general practitioners involved.
The initiatives envisaged by the screening campaign were presented during a workshop at the Borsa hotel, in Palermo. The event was attended by, among others, the general manager of Dasoe, Salvatore Requirez; Antonio Craxì, president of the Hcv Sicily Network scientific commission; Vito Di Marco, representative for Sicily of the technical group for coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the national screening for HCV of the Ministry of Health; Giuseppa Maria Irrera, director of the inmate office of the regional prison administration office; Giovanna Spatari, rector of the University of Messina, president of the Italian Society of Occupational Medicine.
The numbers of the “Just Think About It” campaign
In detail, therefore, there are 320 analysis laboratories affiliated with the SSR with 680 sampling points, 4,200 general practitioners, 640 occupational doctors, over 1600 pharmacies and 5000 pharmacists and the entire system of public health facilities on the island.
These are the numbers of a large and innovative screening campaign against hepatitis C which the Sicilian Region is launching today. A campaign that aims to become a best practice, creating a model that can also be used for other screenings.
The initiative was born from a need that has become clear in recent months: around 20 thousand Sicilians may have contracted hepatitis C without knowing it. This is an estimate made by experts who deal with liver diseases on a daily basis.
Early diagnosis
But today this disease can be cured in a simple way, it is enough to diagnose it before it leads to serious consequences such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.
The Sicilian Region has 32 centers belonging to the HCV Sicily network, specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. At well-equipped and well-organised clinical centres, it is possible to eradicate the disease in a short time. But the disease is silent, so the simplest way to identify it is to carry out a simple blood test, before it evolves and leads to serious consequences.
How screening works, simple and totally free
For this reason, from today all those born between 1969 and 1989 will be able to undergo a simple and quick screening. This is a simple, completely free blood test. No prescription or doctor’s prescription is needed. Simply show up at any affiliated public or private testing laboratory and ask to undergo screening for hepatitis C, without paying anything. The test result will be communicated to the interested party quickly and easily via SMS.
The information campaign and the website
To make the population aware of the existence of this opportunity, the Region is also launching a campaign which will be developed through personal communications (letter of invitation from the ASPs) to the target population (Sicilians between 35 and 55 years old) but also through all media, including dedicated Facebook and Instagram pages. There is also an online website, where it is possible to find all the information on the disease and the test, and where you can easily locate the nearest laboratory where it is possible to undergo the test.
Simply connect to the Bastapensarci.it website or follow the campaign pages on Facebook Bastapensarci.it and Instagram /bastapensarci.it to acquire all types of information and stay updated.
The role of doctors, pharmacies and pharmacists
In addition to the essential collaboration of all the analysis laboratories, the contribution that general practitioners, occupational doctors and pharmacists will make within their activities is fundamental.
Their competence and ability to understand the particular needs of citizens is fundamental for the success of the screening program: citizens will, in fact, be able to turn to them for timely and competent clarifications and indications.
“And what did I know”
“And what did I know” is the message of the campaign which invites, therefore, to take a simple, fast and completely free test to protect yourself against hepatitis C, because “it’s better to think about it now, to never think about it again”.
Tags: Fight hepatitis Sicily campaign begins
